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Possible Soil Contamination At Old Salt Mine Site
SENECA LAKE (WENY)-- A local environmental database firm is publishing information regarding concerns about oil contamination at an old salt mine on Seneca Lake. Walter Hang from Toxics Targeting told us today that a now-banned practice involved injecting toxic fuel into an old salt mine, to protected the it from dissolving towards the earth's surface. He claims this outdated practice could be the reason for oil contamination of Seneca Lake.
"No one knew where this oil was originating until Crestwood U.S Salt kindly wrote me, and that's how come this is a very important disclosure of a historic legacy of toxic contamination that the community never knew about," says Hang.
Walter Hang says he received a letter from Crestwood U.S. Salt earlier this month, that identified a technique called oil padding, that is no longer used - although it was a common practice back in the 1970's. In 1975, a well owned by International Salt Company contained 40-thousand gallons of number two fuel oil. In February of that year, there was an incident that led to oil getting into Seneca Lake. In 1995, NYSEG discovered contaminated soil in the same area. Hang says once this oil is in the ground, it's virtually impossible to get out. That's why he wrote Governor Cuomo a letter, asking to investigate other wells along the Seneca Lake area.
"The question is: are any of the other wells leaking, and are they also polluting Seneca Lake, the source of drinking water for the local residents," Hang says.
Hang says the contamination is attributed to the oil padding technique, which was once commonly used. This is a method involving fuel injections into salt mines to keep the roof from collapsing.
WENY reached to Crestwood, which took over the property in 2008. They tell us the #49 well, where the 1975 spill originated, is in no way connected to their proposed L-P-G storage project.
In a statement, Vice President Brad Bacon says-"The DEC staff has called out opponents of propane storage for referencing facts and principles that are unproven or irrelevant. The fact is, the DEC has all of this information at its dispoal, and its experts undeniably support the mertis of our propane storage proposal."
For DEC letters regarding Crestwood's Propane Storage Project, click on this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ckroywfgoo5snl/August 22 2016 LPS to CALJ%5B8%5D%5B12%5D%5B2%5D.PDF?dl=0 or this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1b9oo1jd5d1nqab/DEC reply brief%2C Finger Lake LPG Storage.pdf?dl=0.
For more information about the 1975 spill, click on this link: http://toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/2016-09-20/salt-co-fuel-oil-padding-spill
DEC Documents Reveal Undisclosed Oil Leaks Into Seneca Lake in 1975
Seneca Lake is one of the most popular tourist destinations in New York.
"Oh it's beautiful; absolutely amazing," said Aaron Whitinger.
Amazing: the way local environmental advocates want to keep it. On Thursday, they raised concerns about potential contaminants in the lake.
"Forty thousand gallons of No. 2 fuel oil," said Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting.
Toxics Targeting has released old documents that reveal 40,000 gallons of fuel oil was injected into a salt mine outside of Watkins Glen. According to the documents, the oil may have leaked into the lake in 1975.
"Now we know that some of these spills impacted the lake," said Hang. "This is a very remote area, so people may not have noticed the oil was present."
The leak was a result of a practice known as oil padding, which was common at that time, but is no longer used. The information was not disclosed to the public, though the DEC was aware of the leak.
Crestwood LP, the company that took ownership of the salt mine in 2008, said in a statement, "The DEC staff has called out opponents of propane storage for referencing facts and principles that are unproven or irrelevant. The fact is, the DEC has all of this information at its disposal, and its experts undeniably support the merits of our propane storage proposal."
They call the allegations irrelevant since the alleged spill occurred 40 years ago. But Toxics Targeting says that, since 1975, there have been several other spills, including as recently as 2003.
"If there are persistent sources of oil, they've gotta be cleaned up," said Hang.
Seneca Lake is the largest of the Finger Lakes, and the deepest lake in New York State. It's also the main source of drinking water for people living in Watkins Glen.
"This is an incomparable lake. This is one of the most famous and most valuable bodies of water in the entire world, and it warrants the highest level of protection. There should be absolutely no degradation of water quality in Seneca Lake," said Hang.
In the meantime, Toxics Targeting has asked Governor Andrew Cuomo to implement stricter laws aimed at protecting the lake from harmful contaminants.
The well where the 1975 spill originated is not connected to Crestwood LP's proposed LPG storage project.
Environmentalists 'hammering away,' opposing fuel pipelines through New York state
Opponents of a pipeline expansion that would flow through vast portions of New York want the Cuomo Administration to deny a key permit that could halt the upgrade.
The New Market Dominion pipeline is one of a dizzying array of fuel pipelines that flow through New York, in many cases taking natural gas from hydrofracking sites in other states to markets in New York and other places.
The pipeline, which is largely regulated by the federal government, is trying to expand its capacity and to build more powerful compressor stations at three sites along its route in the Southern Tier and Central New York.
But opponents says Governor Cuomo’s Department of Environmental Conservation has the power to shut the project down, because the pipeline company needs the DEC to sign off on a key water quality certification, as well as three air quality permits for the upgrades to the compressor stations.
Walter Hang, with the Ithaca-based Toxics Targeting, said his group already found instances where the existing pipeline violated state pollution standards. He said the state environmental agency should issue a new certification.
“Unfortunately the existing pipeline has already caused enormous water quality violations that were never cleaned up to state standards,” said Hang.
There’s already precedent for the state to reject the water quality permits. Cuomo’s environmental agency earlier this year denied a similar water quality certification for the Constitution pipeline, which was to be a newly-constructed line stretching across vast sections of Upstate New York.
Hang is one of the leaders of the anti-fracking movement that led to a ban on hydrofracking in New York State in late in 2014. He said he and others are turning up the heat on the Cuomo Administration during an extended public comment period that ended September 12th, writing letters and making phone calls.
“We’re just hammering away,” said Hang who said Cuomo’s claims as a climate change activist are in jeopardy if he issues the permits.
Hang said his group is seeking a “moratorium” on all fossil fuel project approvals anywhere in New York.
Dominion is not asking for a new pipeline, but instead requesting approval for an upgrade.
Lisa Marshall, who lives in Horseheads said that still means a big change. She said the new line would carry up to 112 million cubic feet of gas per day. “If you can imagine a football field a half a mile into the air, that’s the volume of gas they’re talking about,” Marshall said.
Marshall lives just a few blocks from the Horseheads compressor station. She said 50 homes, two day care centers, a group home for disabled people and many elderly citizens live within half a mile of the site. “A lot of them are concerned about safety, they’re concerned about the noise, ” Marshall said. “They’re concerned about their property values.”
Marshall said she and other advocates have learned, through the fracking fight, that applying political pressure can work. “If the governor hears us and feels like there’s enough of us that are upset about this, then maybe he’ll do something,” Marshall said. “That’s our hope.”
A spokesman for the Department of Environmental Conservation said the proposal does not involve building a new pipeline, and instead seeks to “modify an existing compressor station,” and create two new ones.
Spokesman Sean Mahar said the public comment period was already extended to “ensure the public had adequate opportunity” to help the environmental agency in its review. And he said all comments will be “considered prior to making any final determination.”
There’s currently no exact timetable on when a decision will be made.
Senators urge consideration of gas concerns
New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand
READING (9/7/2016)--U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-New York) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) submitted another letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with concerns about Crestwood's underground natural gas storage in the town of Reading. The letter, dated Aug. 19, urges FERC to give full consideration to the safety and environmental concerns brought up by several groups and citizens in the area surrounding Seneca Lake. This comes following a decision by FERC in May to grant the project a two-year extension on construction that was initially approved in 2014.
"We would like to restate the concerns raised by our constituents since the Commission's issuance of the construction certificate in 2014," according to the letter. "These include the adverse impacts this project could have on public health, safety, the environment and quality of life currently enjoyed by many in this area. In addition, the federal government is considering new regulations to address the safety of natural gas storage that, if applied to this facility, could have substantial impact on a variety of constituent concerns and the way this facility would operate."
The letter also lists several groups that filed an appeal to FERC's decision in June, stating the commission did not consider critical safety concerns related to the project. The appeal also provided new information on safety that was not available when the certificate issued, arguing the extension of time was not justified and the commission should not permit Arlington to proceed until these issues are addressed.
"We are also aware that many of our constituent groups including Gas Free Seneca, Finger Lakes Wine Business Coalition, Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association, and many surrounding towns and counties have come together to file an appeal to FERC halting this project until the serious environmental and safety issues they have raised are properly addressed," according to the letter. "We ask that you give this appeal appropriate and thorough consideration."
FERC had originally granted the construction permit authorizing construction in 2014, but the project has been delayed while waiting on the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to come to a decision on the the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) portion of the project. This also comes after Crestwood announced they would be scaling back the LPG project while eliminating train and truck distribution at the site.
"We are extremely grateful to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for listening to their constituents and lending their support," said Joseph Campbell, president of Gas Free Seneca. "We know that FERC has come under great scrutiny for rubber-stamping all gas related projects, so we hope that hearing from our senators will encourage FERC to carefully consider our appeal."
The senators' letter also comes shortly after Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting, Inc., an environmental database firm in Ithaca, released U.S. Salt spill information obtained from the DEC. Hang claims many spills were never cleaned up to state standards even though they caused petroleum contamination and brine discharges that affected Seneca Lake. The information Hang provided included 17 different spill events spanning from 1974 to 2016 of varying amounts of brine or oil, the largest of which being the spilling of 470,000 gallons of brine in 1980. Hang also submitted a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office urging him to deny all gas storage petitions at the site.
"This information documents that New York authorities are unable to prevent or clean up toxic spills," Hang said.
Gas Free Seneca Co-Founder Yvonne Taylor said there have been seven spills listed in Hang's information in the eight years Crestwood owned the property. While two of these spills appear to be a duplicate report (dated March 16, 2016) for the same incident, the spills during this timeframe amount to 5.25 gallons of oil and 7,654 gallons of brine since Crestwood took over, according to Hang's information.
"That's not really good odds," Taylor said. "[...] It doesn't bode well for increasing gas storage over there. The human error and equipment failure they are already experiencing, it gave us great pause."
Meanwhile, Crestwood representatives highlighted the investments that have been made in the facility to help improve the plant's operation.
"We cannot speak to incidents that occurred before we bought U.S. Salt in 2008," Crestwood Vice President Brad Bacon stated. "We knew that significant catch-up investment would be required, and we have spent tens of millions to upgrade and modernize the plant operations. Although our goal is an incident-free workplace, the incidents that have occurred since we finished replacing the brine pipeline system in 2013 have been minor. Despite what this group would like you to believe, there is nothing nefarious or catastrophic here -- the state's experts had this data before strongly endorsing our propane storage project."